This is a series of transition/plot scenes between the primary action scene and the summary scene. I hope you enjoy it, and appreciate any feedback you can give. It's only the fifth original script I've written, but I think it's pretty damn good. There is very little description of The Overman here, as he was introduced in the opening scene of the book.
PAGE TWELVE, 4 Panels
Panel 1, 1/3 page...Foreground, the rear silhouette of a man in a trench coat and fedora. The man in silhouette is none other than The Overman. Ahead of him is a bustling, smoky bar filled with young Asian men. A television in top corner of the room has the same anchor as before from “WNN....World News Network.” speaking with false relief. A young man at the bar is leaning forward, shouting to the bartender.
1. NARR: BANGKOK, THAILAND. THIRTY MINUTES LATER.
2. ANCHOR 1: AND SO IT SEEMS THAT THE CATASTRPHE OF FLIGHT 302 HAS BEEN AVERTED, THANKS TO THE BRAVE EFFORT OF THE NEW MILITARY DIVISION CALLED SUMMIT OPS. WHICH STANDS FOR “SUPERHUMAN MILITARY OPERATIVES” --
3. ANCHOR 1: -- COMING UP NEXT, SUMMIT OPS’ CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CAPTIAN TEDDY JONES WILL HOLD A LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE TO FILL US IN ON THE DETAILS OF SUMMIT OPS’ HEROIC RESCUE OF 185 PASSENGERS INCLUDING SENATOR VERNON ALCOTT, THE FRESHMAN SENATOR FROM PENNSYLVANIA AND THE NEW A.C.E. PARTY --
4. DRINKER: HEY BARKEEP! CHANGE THE CHANNEL, WILL YOU? THERE’S A JOHN WOO MOVIE ON CHANNEL 19!
5. ANCHOR 1: TOMORROW MORNING, A “LIVE” RE-ENACTMENT OF THE EVENT CAN BE SEEN HERE....ON WWN......
6. OVERMAN: I WOULD LIKE TO WATCH THAT PROGRAM, IF YOU DON’T MIND, SIRS
Panel 2, The man at the bar has turned in his chair to object, but on seeing the grotesque form of The Overman, loses his train of thought, spilling half of his drink in shock and fear.
1. DRINKER: I DON’T GIVE A RAT’S A --
2. DRINKER: -- OH, MY...
Panel 3, Close up of The Overman, his ghoulish skeletal mouth poised in an evil grin.
1. OVERMAN: EXCUSE ME...YOU WERE SAYING?
2. OVERMAN: NOTHING? GOOD. THEN WE CAN SEE WHAT THE HEROES’ PAWN HAS TO SAY? EXCELLENT! KIND SIR, I WOULD VERY MUCH ENJOY A GLASS OF YOUR FINEST SCOTCH.
Panel 4, In the upper left corner, the anchorman continues...to the right, the bartender reaches up behind him to a bottle, careful to keep one eye on the frightful Overman.
1. ANCHOR 1: AND NOW, SUMMIT OPS CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CAPTAIN THEODORE JONES.
2.BARTENDER: IS GLENLIVIT OK, SIR?
PAGE THIRTEEN, 7 Panels
Panel 1, Wide Panel, Captain Teddy Jones, a black USAF Captain, is wearing his formal “whites” and myriad badges of honor and decoration. His face is serious. His hands grip the sides of the podium before him, which has half a dozen microphones mounted on it.
1. NARR: AT THAT MOMENT, IN SUMMIT OPS’ BALTIMORE MANSION AND HEADQUARTERS.
1. JONES: THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. I’LL TRY TO MAKE THIS SHORT SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO YOUR QUESTIONS. YOU ALL KNOW THE BASICS, I’LL SKIP PAST THAT.
3. JONES: TODAY SUMMIT OPS, SUPERHUMAN MILITARY OPERATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SWIFTLY AND EFFECTIVELY ENDED A TERRORIST ATTACK ON INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT 302. THE OPERATIONAL PLAN ITSELF IS CONFIDENTIL BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT WAS CREATED BY THE TEAM LEADER, SPOOK, AND CARRIED OUT TO PERFECTION BY THE MEMBERS OF SUMIT OPS.
4. JONES: THERE WERE NO PASSENGER FATALITIES, AND ONLY ONE TERRORIST WAS KILLED IN THE OPERATION. THE OTHER THREE ARE IN SUMMIT OPS’ CUSTODY AND WILL BE QUESTIONED TOMORROW.
5. JONES: WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE TERRORISTS’ CLAIM - THAT THEY ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE GREEK TERRORISTS KNOWN AS THE PROMETHEUS UNION - IS FALSE. NONE OF THE TERRORISTS SPEAK GREEK AND THE ATTACK, PRESUMABLY AGAINST SENATOR ALCOTT, WOULD BE INCONSISTENT WITH THE PROMETHEUS UNION’S MODUS OPERANDI.
6. JONES: QUESTIONS? YES MA’AM.
Panel 2, A cute blonde reporter, Ellen Hamilton of Flash News, is waving a microphone toward the podium. Her dress is sharp, but her expression is dull.
1. HAMILTON: ELLEN HAMILTON, FLASH NEWS! WHAT MODUS OPERADI ARE YOU REFERING TO? HOW SURE ARE YOU THAT THEY AREN’T WHO THEY CLAIM TO BE?
Panel 3, Captain Jones Raises his left eyebrow, creating an annoyed expression. He snaps a terse reply.
1. JONES: THE PROMETHEUS UNION HAS ATTACKED ONLY GREEK GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO ARE...PARTIAL....TO THE ORION CORPORATION, WHICH IS PRIMARILY ACTIVE IN THE MEDITERANNEAN SEA.
2. JONES: SENATOR ALCOTT IS AN AMERICAN, AND HE IS STATEDLY ANTI-CORPORATE. WE’RE ABOUT NINETY PERCENT SURE THEY’RE NOT AFFILIATED WITH PROMETHEUS.
Panel 4, A sharp looking black reporter, John Saxton of WWN, is holding a notepad in one hand and is smartly holding a pen in the other, wielding it as if it were a tool which makes him think better. In all, he looks quite professorial...and snobbish.
1. SAXTON: THERE ARE RUMORS THAT THE PHANTOM ROOK IS OF ALIEN ORIGIN. IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THESE RUMORS? IF SO, CAN WE ENTRUST HIM WITH THE LIVES OF AMERICANS?
Panel 5, Captain Jones holds his hand out, waving Saxton off as if to say “No, no. You’ve got it all wrong.”
1. JONES: ROOK’S SECURITY CLEARANCE IS BETTER THAN MINE, BUT I HAVE READ HIS BACKGROUND MATERIAL. SORRY, IT’S CLASSIFIED.
Panel 6, A thin, gray-haired reporter wearing rimmed glasses, a rumpled suit that looks like it came out of a 70’s-era closet and a wide, striped tie. He is Alex Rothstein, NWV’s senior and most respected reporter...
1. ROTHSTEIN: SENATOR ALCOTT IS OUTSPOKEN AGAINST THE SHADOWDINE CORPORATION’S INFLUENCE IN THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. HAS SUMMIT OPS LOOKED INTO THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THIS...IF ANY?
Panel 7, Captain Jones narrows his eyes, wearing an absolute poker face as he blatantly lies in response to Rothstein’s question.
1. JONES: WE HAVEN’T RULED OUT ANYONE, THOUGH WE HAVE NO REASON TO SUSPECT THAT SHADOWDINE IS IN ANY WAY INVOLVED IN THIS TRAGIC INCIDENT. WHAT WOULD THEY HAVE TO GAIN?
PAGE FOURTEEN, 4 Panels
Panel 1, A spacious, elegant office. There is a large television monitor mounted to the wall. On the screen, a pretty woman in a business suit, Teresa D’Angelo of IPN (Incorporated Print News), is asking a question. The back of a man’s head can be seen in silhouette. The man is Brent Overcroft, Vice President in charge of security at Shadowdine.
1. NARR: AT THAT MOMENT, IN THE NEW YORK OFFICE OF BRENT OVERCROFT, VICE PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF SHADOWDINE SECURITY...
1. D’ANGELO(TV): ANY IDEA WHO THE TERRORISTS ARE?
2. OVERCROFT: LOOK, GENTLEMEN. LOOK AT THE WAY HE LIES.
Panel 2, Bird’s eye view of the office. The Television monitor is mounted to the wall in the middle/top of the panel. Directly across and at the opposite side of the room is a large desk. Two plush office chairs face it. The walls are lined with huge file cabinets and bookshelves lined with color-coded binders. Paintings hang from the wall on either side of the television monitor. In the center of the room and perpendicular to the desk are two couches. Two men, all security department analysts, sit on each couch. The men are, from left to right/clockwise, Jones, Wilson, Pendleton, and Syverson. Overcroft is standing between the couches, closer to the desk than the television, which he is facing. The carpet has a shadowdine symbol etched between the couches.
1. JONES (TV): NONE OF THEM MATCH THE FILES WE HAVE ON KNOWN TERRORISTS, BUT THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND CIA ARE LOOKING INTO IT. THEY ALL SPEAK ARABIC, AND THAT GIVES US A GOOD IDEA WHICH TERRORIST GROUPS TO LOOK MOST CLOSELY AT.
1. OVERCROFT: THEY MUST KNOW WE ARE INVOLVED, BUT THEY CANNOT PROVE IT. AND THE LIE ABOUT THE ALIEN...
2. PENDLETON: HE LIES WELL, SIR, FOR A MILITARY MAN.
3. DEITRICH: WHAT SHOULD WE DO, SIR?
4. WILSON: MAYBE HE’S TELLING THE TRUTH. MAYBE THEY DON’T KNOW --
Panel 3, Overcroft, a tall blonde man with a muscular frame that can be seen even beneath his black suit, faces panel front, his arm extended with the television remote, clicking it off.
1. OVERCROFT: THE TRUTH, MR. WILSON? POSSIBLE, BUT NOT LIKELY. ARE YOU PREPARED TO JEAPORDIZE THE SECURITY OF SHADOWDINE’S COVERT AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS ON A NARROW POSSIBILITY?
Panel 4, Overcroft (left) is looking down at Wilson, sitting on the couch (right). Wilson is looking down at his feet. Wilson is a middle-aged man with dark hair and a nice suit.
1. WILSON: NO SIR.
2. OVERCROFT: THEN WE’RE AGREED. YOU AND MR. JONES WILL START A FILE ON SUMMIT OPS. I WANT EVERYTHING
PAGE FIFTEEN, 5 Panels
Panel 1, Jones and Wilson are now standing, facing Overcroft. Jones is an older man with silver hair.
1. WILSON: YES SIR.
2. OVERCROFT: I WANT EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THESE “SUPERHUMAN” MILITARY OPERATIVES ON MY DESK BY MONDAY. I WANT PERSONNEL FILES, CHAIN OF COMMAND, MISSION STATEMENT --
3. OVERCROFT: -- AND NOT THAT “TO PROTECT AMERICA AND AMERICANS” CRAP! I WANT TO KNOW THEIR REAL PURPOSE.
4. JONES: YES SIR.
Panel 2, Bird’s eye view of the room. Jones and Wilson are exiting, while Pendelton has moved across to the other couch. Overcroft has turned one of the chairs facing the desk around and is sitting in it.
1. OVERCROFT: MR. SYVERSON, I WANT YOU TO CONTACT HELIX.
2. SYVERSON: SIR? I DON’T MEAN TO...
3. OVERCROFT: I’LL CLEAR IT WITH THE BOSS. JUST DO IT.
Panel 3, Syverson, a fortyish bald man with thick eyebrows is nodding and writing a notation in his calendar. Overcroft speaks from off-panel, left.
1. SYVERSON: I’LL TRY AND CONTACT HELIX FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
2. OVERCROFT: MR. PENDELTON. OPINIONS?
Panel 4, Pendelton, a thin, unassuming man in his thirties, sits with his hands in his lap, squinting behind his rounded glasses.
1. PENDLETON: SIR, THERE’S KNOW WAY TO KNOW IF SUMMIT OPS KNOWS WE WERE INVOLVED WITH THE TERRORISTS. OUR SECURITY ON THAT WAS PRETTY GOOD, SO EVEN IF THEY SUSPECT US, THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO PROVE IT.
2. PENDLETON: WHAT WORRIES ME IS THE DYNAMICS OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP. THEY’RE ALMOST ALL AMERICAN MILITARY PROFESSIONALS, WHICH MAKES THEM IDEALISTS TO ONE DEGREE OR ANOTHER.
3. PENDELTON: THEY BELIEVE IN “AMERICA THE FREE,” WHICH MEANS THEY DON’T BELIEVE IN SHADOWDINE. EVEN IF THEY DON’T KNOW IT YET, THEY’RE OUR ENEMIES.
Panel 5, Close-up of Overcroft, rubbing his chin in thought.
1. OVERCROFT: I AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESMENT. AS USUAL YOU HAVE A WAY OF SEEING PAST THE FACTS INTO A DEEPER TRUTH. LET’S PREPARE A TEST FOR OUR NEW ENEMIES, SHALL WE?
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